These pages were originally made available on the North California Groups website which, unfortunately, no longer exists. The pages are provided here as an archive of that site and are currently being updated at irregular intervals.

From El Cerrito, Cuniberti, Thorsen and Wright had previously been members of Traumatic Experience. Having changed their name to Hades Blues Works they expanded into a quartet with the addition of guitarist Craig Ferreira in 1970, subsequently shortening their name to Hades. Playing a blend of psychedelicized blues rock, they were house band at the Babylon Club in Berkeley, and a live recording of the band playing there survives. Ferreira left in 1971. Thanks to Craig Ferrera.

HAIR

Hair evolved out of Yellow Brick Road after Darby Slick joined up post his stint in The Great Society. A multi racial, experimental soul/r&b outfit. Members included Jean Piersol on vocals, Henry Salas, Bing Nathan, Terry Clements and Fuzzy John Oxendine. A very short-lived group that split when Darby and Jean left to move to Chicago where Jean recorded her two Darby produced singles for Cadet Concept in 1968.

A Freemont, Ca. garage band, with The Baytovens they supported Paul Revere And The Raiders at the Oakland Auditorium in April 1966, and headlined at a KRFC-sponsored gig at the College of San Mateo on October 15th 1966. They only made two 45's, although the Brent sides did turn up on the Pot Of Flowers compilation in 1967 along with two new recordings, Time To Kill and When You Know You're In Love.

A part of the Berkeley High scene and originally known as The Livin' End. When Mark Batterman left The Livin' End in mid 1966 he was replaced by Pete Barsotti, who encouraged the band to change their name and start performing more original material, thus The Haymarket Riot was born. With the addition of Scott Donaldson, who had previously been in The Plague, the line up was completed and the group continued to be a live draw in the local teen scene. In December 1967 they were recorded playing at the First Unitarian Church Of Kensington social hall, a popular hang out, and this saw a release on RD Records in 2000. By this time the group were down to a four piece, Scott Donaldson having left in July, and in early 1968 they changed their name to Lazarus, finally splitting up in late 1969.

I am posting this because the above is filled with inaccuracies. I know because I started the group. Here is the real story:

In the fall of 1963 I talked my junior high school friends Dave Carpender (guitar), Steve Nelson (drums), Stan Miller (bass) to start a group called The Malibus to play surf music. I played guitar and later keyboards. We all went to school together at Willard Jr. High School in Berkeley, California. The Beatles hit America in 1964, and everything changed.

We started playing British Invasion stuff. That is also when we started to write and play original music. I wrote our first original song called "Please Stop Running Around." Miller was asked to leave the band, and eventually joined the Purple Earthquake (They became The Earthquake on the Beskerkely label.) He was replaced by Steve Barsotti on bass. The group was renamed The Pulsations. In 1965, Steve Barsotti's older brother Pete Barsotti joined as lead singer (vocals only). By that time we were at Berkeley High except for Pete who was already in college. The group was renamed The Livin' End, and appeared in Life Magazine because we were one of the very first garage bands in America.

During 1965, the San Francisco music scene was exploding with The Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead and others showing up on the scene. We decided The Livin' End was too "square" and renamed the band The Haymarket Riot in the fall of '65 after the famed historical American labor union riot.

Back then, rock groups with the rare exception of groups like The Animals and The Moody Blues were all guitar without keyboards. I wanted to play keyboards (organ and electric piano), the group wanted to stay with an all guitar lineup. So, I left the band and started with Steve and Pete Barsotti's brother, Dave Barsotti, a group called the John Douglas Company with a two keyboard lineup showcasing electric piano and an organ player (Dave Allen). Scott Donaldson joined the band to replace me on guitar (Carpender played lead). We all remain friendly to this day. The F.U.C.K. concert was the John Douglas Company's idea since we had two members from Kensington who were members of the church. The John Douglas Company opened the show with The Purple Earthquake and the Haymarket Riot following on the bill. The Unitarian Church in Berkeley was a popular hangout. The one in Kensington was not. My memory is the concert was a one time only thing.

The John Douglas Company disbanded in 1967. I went on to play in Maggie's Farm through 1971. The Haymarket Riot became Lazarus playing cutting edge stuff for the times. Dave Carpender eventually went on to be the lead guitar player for the Greg Kihn Band. As mentioned above, the Purple Earthquake became Earthquake and recorded for A&M and Beserkely. Pete Barsotti, along with his younger brother Bob, became an executive with Bill Graham Presents.

From Sacramento and featuring Napa valley native John Zimmerman on lead guitar, The Heard was a later incarnation of the Plague Ltd. By late 1967 Zimmerman had left and was replaced by Rick Harris, Spencer Stout also left around this time and the Heard became a quartet, recording their lone 45 for the Oregon based Garland label in 1968. In 2009 Frantic Records featured two previously unreleased 1966 recordings by The Heard, as well as three by the Plague Ltd, on So Cold !!! a CD collection of Sacramento garage bands. One side of the Garland 45 is included on Luv's So Free, another CD release from Frantic Records.

THE HEATHER STONE

No information is available for this group at present time.

HEAVENLY BLUES BAND

Appeared at the Fillmore Auditorium 6/10/66 with Jefferson Airplane and The Great Society.

A punky garage band who played the Band Bash at the Cow Palace where they finished in 2nd place, the winners being Butch Engle & The Styx. Their prize was a recording session in a studio in San Mateo, unfortunately the tapes were subsequently "lost". Rory Butcher later joined Womb, Reese Marin became a member of Aum and Barry Lewis drummed with Long John Baldry, Indian Puddin' & Pipe, Bobby & I and Butch Engle & The Styx.

In 1968, while he was with The Charlatans, Dan Hicks set about forming an acoustic group. With the addition of violinist David la Flamme and female backing singers known as the Lickettes, one of whom was Sherry Snow, formerly of Blackburn and Snow, the group became Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks, often opening for The Charlatans. Hicks soon decided he would prefer to concentrate on the Hot Licks and left The Charlatans, La Flamme meanwhile decided to concentrate on It's A Beautiful Day and was replaced with Sid page . Signed by Columbia, the debut album was released on the Epic subsidiary. By the time of the release of the second album, a live set called Where's the Money?, the band had left Columbia and also had replaced Sherry Snow and Christina Gancher with Naomi Eisenberg (previously with Dancing Food and Entertainment) and Maryann Price. After several more albums Hicks dissolved the band in 1978, reforming it again in 2000. Some recordings with the first line up including David La Flamme were issued on the Early Muses compilation on Big Beat in 1998.

www.danhicks.net

HMMM

No information is available for this group at the present time.

THE HOBBITS

1968 Frodo Lives /Jolly Good Fellow ZAR 25

HOFFMAN'S BICYCLE

No information is available for this group at the present time.

HOT COFFEE (AKA COFFEE)

Linden Coffee

Some Day You Will Die/Cheatin' on Me Plamie P1024 1968

From Modesto and led by Linden Coffee, they were managed by Ben Lawson, a DJ on a local radio station KDON from Salinas, who also managed Uncle Ben and the Wild Rice.

1972 Berkeley Farms: Old-time and Country-Style Music of Berkeley Folkways FA 2436
two tracks credited to New Tranquility String Band

A part of the community of "old timey music" players at the 6018 Colby Street house in Oakland, along with Golden Toad. Dr Humbead was their friend, sometime manager and soundman: Earl Crabb, aka The Great Humbead. They performed at the Sky River Rock Festival, Tenino Washington, in 1968 and 1969. They had two tracks on the Mike Seeger recorded Berkeley Farms album, Boatman and Sally In The Garden, but by this point they were known as The New Tranquility String Band.